PJM Board Directs Delay in PATH Transmission Line

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The outlook for a slower economic recovery has led the Board of PJM Interconnection to direct transmission owners to suspend efforts on the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH).

PJM annually reviews its transmission expansion plans. A preliminary analysis suggests that the need for the line has moved further into the future. Therefore, the PJM Board has decided to hold the PATH project in abeyance in the 2011 Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP). The preliminary analysis used the most current economic forecasts, demand response commitments and potential new generation.

PJM will continue its analysis. The PJM Board will review the comprehensive analysis as part of its consideration of the 2011 RTEP.

Over the last two years, the recession and the dramatic change in the economic outlook caused PJM to forecast lower growth in the use of electricity. Growth in the use of electricity correlates with economic growth. The forecasted slower growth rate likely will delay the need for the line.

The PJM Board's action affects only PATH, which would connect the Amos Substation in West Virginia to the proposed Kemptown Substation in Maryland.

PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 54 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region's transmission grid, which includes 6,038 substations and 56,500 miles of transmission lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion. Visit PJM at www.pjm.com.

SOURCE PJM Interconnection